How long does it take to get a "respectable" amount of strength back at age 37?

[Michigan Tim]

Hello everyone. Great forums here!
OK, I'm not 40 yet, but I'm less than 3 years away, and I wanted to get your thoughts/comments on weight training in one's late thirties. Here is my "dilemma". I recently got back into weight training about 3 months ago, (after an 8 year complete absence) and have not missed a workout.
Every 48-72 hours I do bench press and military, and I alternate days with some upper back (bent over rows) and biceps work. But, after 3 months of pretty hard training, I'm only doing sets of 6 on the bench with 205 lbs, and a set of 4 with 215 if I'm lucky. I weigh 180 lbs. (I do not max because I work out alone). What's worse is that I got to this point a month ago and have not made any gains since! The reason I am so frustrated is that I worked out like a beast in my mid- to late-20s, and at 28 and 165 lbs., I was bench pressing 330 lbs. (max) with sets of 6 at 275. I effectively quit cold turkey after I got married at 29.

My questions:
Does one's ability to make gains in strength deteriorate that rapidly in your thirties? This is very frustrating for me, especially since I gained so much so quickly in my twenties. Should I give up on trying to gain in strength and focus instead on high repetition, cardiovascular work?

How much time should I spend warming up? It seems it takes me 3, sometimes even 4 sets of light weight to feel "warm" enough to feel that I can take on a heavy weight, but by that point, I am tired endurance-wise, which of course affects the rest of my work out.

My goals are size and firmness in my pecs, shoulders, and arms, and a reasonable amount of strength. To me, reasonable is not a 225 max, .... but maybe I am being unreasonable due to the laws of biology and ageing?

Your thoughts/comments and recommendations on appropriate strength-training workout are very much appreciated!

[Patrick_Bateman]

Well first off your workout is the worst. Post your exact workouts for the week in detal.

[mitchcumstein]

Whats up man. Im right down the road in lansing. Anyway, yeah you need to warm up good. Personally l like to hit the elliptical for 5 minutes before lifting. Gets the blood flowing throughout the whole body. As for the gains, youre 40 and test levels are probably nowhere near where they were in your 20's. If you have the means and youre serious about lifting, go to a doc and get your test levels checked. They might be low in which case youd be a prime candidate for HRT. Also, it doesnt sound like you have much of a routine so maybe you should poke around here a little and put one together.

[narcsarge]

Welcome Michigan Tim. I am 44 years old and have been back in the "lifestyle" for 2 years plus. If you have trained in the past you will be glad to know that you still have gains to make! Yep, you heard me, there is more to come. As long as your diet is good, your routine is good, and you lift wisely, you can surpass what you did when you were "younger". In all my years I have never been this strong, this lean, this "fit". If I can achieve these things at my age you can too!

The advice given about warm ups so far is pretty good. Any thing that will get the muscles warmed up, the blood flowing, etc., will help prevent injury. I usually spend 10 minutes warming up the muscle group that I intend to work.

As for your "reasonable" amount of strength, and I am sure PowerJim will back me on this, a 225 max bench is not out of the realm of possibilities. Again, using me as an example, when I was in my 20's, I could not bench 135. Now, I am almost benching 205 for 6 reps! I was the skinny, undefined kid. So age is not the issue. Set realistic goals for yourself and follow some of the beginner routines found on this site. Good luck and welcome aboard!

[Michigan Tim]

My workout routine is as follows:

5 minutes or so of stretching and about 25 pushups

Every 72 hours

Chest - Bench Press
115 lbs., 1 set, 10 reps
115, 1 set 12 reps
165, 1 set, 10 reps
185, 1 set 6-8 reps (however strong I'm feeling)
185 - 195, 1 set 5-7 reps
175 - 190, 1 set 5-7 reps
135, 1 set to failure

Upper Back - Bent over rows
3-4 sets of 10, with approx. 115 lbs.

Shoulders - Military )Behind the head) Press
3 sets of 10 - 95 lbs

Every 48 hours
Biceps - Dumbell Curls
4 sets of 20 lbs. 10 reps

I have not gained in about 1 month with this routine. I did however find a recommendation from PowerJim that calls for more sets of very low weight for warmup and 4 sets of heavy weight (at least 85% of 1RM) with 3-5 reps per set. I will try that.

Also, I am experiencing pain in the right shoulder that I at first dismissed as stiffness, but nows it's lingering. I can feel a dull achy kind of paid emanating from the right shoulder and going down my arm to my fingers.
Any idea what this might be? Bursitis?

Thanks.

[Powerstroke]

If you want to see the biggest gains it is ONE simple rule.

One body part, ONCE each week.

Bench, once a week, arms once a week, legs once a week and so on..

More rest will be the biggest aide you will get.

[spiderman]

Originally Posted by Powerstroke

If you want to see the biggest gains it is ONE simple rule.

One body part, ONCE each week.

Bench, once a week, arms once a week, legs once a week and so on..

More rest will be the biggest aide you will get.

^^Bump to that.

I'm 44 and finding that rest, lower reps and more focused work less often is the key to growth. That and really good food, and lots of it.

[Traps]

Originally Posted by spiderman

^^Bump to that.

I'm 44 and finding that rest, lower reps and more focused work less often is the key to growth. That and really good food, and lots of it.

Here's my deal, I'm almost 35 and find that low volume and low reps combined with frequency works well.

I workout 3 on 1 off

-> chest/shoulders/traps

-> lats/biceps/triceps

-> legs/forearms/deadlifts(legs and deadlifts are to be alternated, one workout hit legs, next workout do deadlifts instead)

I typically stick between 3 and 6 sets total for a muscle group. Usually only doing 4. Rep range for chest is between 1 and 5. Other muscles is like between 3 and 7 reps. Dont go to failure too often, and avoid superset's and drop sets. At least once a month I have to go though a workout split real light and easy to help recover form the heavy weights.

My point is this. DONT OVERTRAIN. You should feel energized after your workout. Not tore up.

Edit to add: warmup real good on heavy movements like bench. I do 7 warmup sets before I do my first real set.

2 sets bar 30 reps each
3 sets 135 10 reps each
1 set 225 5 reps
1 set 275 1 rep

My workout partner warms up the same as I. He has a 235 max bench and his warmup is like
2 sets bar 20-30 reps
3 sets 95-105lbs 10 reps each
1 set 155lbs 5 reps
1 set 175 1 rep

[truckin]

Dude, don`t get too discouraged. I`m 38, started back up when I was 35 after a 20 year layoff. After the first year back I felt awsome. Bigger than ever, stronger than ever, and healthier than ever. And I wasn`t the skinny kid, I was the husky kid. The only downside was that I was in a bad wreck a year ago, and haven`t been able to workout since. I`ve lost a little size and put on like 25lbs. But I`m not discouraged, I will get back to where I was, HELL I have to get back again. Just follow what Traps wrote, stick to core exercises, and every so often switch things up to give your body something new. You`ll feel so much better. OH, by the way, as for your shoulder, it sounds like what I had. Rotator cuff strain. But I`m no doctor, get yourself checked by one.

[BTH]

You could try 3-on, 1-off
Day1: back and biceps
Day2: chest, shoulders and tris
Day3: Legs and abs

1 exercise each muscle group, and 3x12, 4x8, 5x6, or 6x6

[TRAZ]

Less is definitely more when it comes to training a muscle! I tend to overtrain and my gains really suffer if I train anything more than once a week. Variety is also important. For example: One week for biceps I will do only BB curls and hammers and then the next week I will do standing DB curls with concentration curls or hammers or maybe a combination of all of the types, but only one set each. Don't do too many sets of exercises for small muscle groups like biceps. Focus on the "big 3" bench, squats, and deadlifts. Keep your muscles "guessing" and adapting. And go heavy! Always pyramid your weight up and end with the heaviest set (you want your muscles to "remember" the last weight that you lifted and adapt to that not a lighter weight). That has helped me tremendously!

[Michigan Tim]

Thanks to all of you for the great advice!

I'm happy to report that by changing my routine around to a modified version of what many of you have recommended and specifically what Traps recommends, my strength has improved immensely with the last two workouts. I've increased my (estimate) 1RM bench to about 275. In short, I'm doing the following:

- Bench, shoulders, and upper back every 6 to 7 days, instead of every 48-72 hours.

- 6-7 warmup sets
- 4 "heavy" sets of 4-6 reps
- Heavy stretching again after my workouts

Also, I bought some push up bars, and I do 3 to 4 sets of 25 reps with these in between chest/upper back/shoulders workouts.... Using the pushup bars really seems to have improved by range of motion and has taken care of the lingering right shoulder pain I was experiencing (knock on wood).

Thanks again for the tips.

[Traps]

Glad to hear my warm up suggestion helped you. Good luck. Show these young whipper snappers that us old timers can lift too.

[narcsarge]

Originally Posted by Traps

Glad to hear my warm up suggestion helped you. Good luck. Show these young whipper snappers that us old timers can lift too.

Hells Yea! Even at my age (44) there are gains to be made every day! Good Job M.T.! Keep at it!